While some Indigenous dispensary owners have had their accounts closed for years, there seems to have been a recent uptick in financial actions taken against Indigenous entrepreneurs, almost to the point of an economic embargo. Many of these actions have taken place against individuals living in territories where Band Councils have passed by-laws acknowledging the sovereign right of their residents to cultivate and sell cannabis and where referendums and surveys have shown community support for the cannabis industry.
Posts published in “Editorial”
A spate of four dramatic robberies of ATM machines from Six Nations businesses underlines the risks facing Indigenous entrepreneurs who’ve been banned from using Canadian banks.
In December of last year, the Cape Breton Regional Police Service carried out multiple raids in Membertou First Nation in violation of the constitutionally protected Aboriginal and Treaty Rights of several Mi’kmaq men. On December 13th, 2022 the municipal police force entered into federal “lands reserved for Indians” and raided the premises of Sully's Trading Post and Belly Busters Pizza & Donair to enforce provincial laws.
Raid comes after controversial Band Council motion to “ban Mohawk Tobacco” from reserve was passed in July. COLE HARBOUR, UNCEDED MI’KMAQ TERRITORY – On Wednesday, Oct 6th, the RCMP escorted Charles Naugle, a Fuel and Tobacco Officer of Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services, into Cole Harbour, a district of…
www.DispensingFreedom.com is hosting a Zoom meeting on Thursday Sept 8th, (6pm in the Maritimes, 5pm in Ontario, 3pm in Alberta, and 2pm in BC time) to hear from spokespeople from the Burnin Grass dispensary in Samson First Nation and to get reactions from others on the call about what happened…
By Dispensing Freedom Staff SAMSON FIRST NATION – Burnin Grass Dispensary, one of the only sovereign Indigenous cannabis shops operating openly in Alberta was raided by the RCMP on Thursday, Sept 1st, 2022. In violation of constitutionally protected treaty and Aboriginal rights, the RCMP came onto the reserve with automatic…
Maurice French of the Chippewa of the Thames First Nation is a driving force in the Indigenous cannabis industry. Four years after his shop was raided at the direction of the elected Chief, all charges have been dropped against him. So why did the Band Council collude with the OPP…
Chief Del Riley, Constitutional negotiator and former National Indian Brotherhood President, tours Medicine Wheel in Alderville First Nation and sits down for a conversation about cannabis and Indigenous sovereignty with Rob Stevenson.
A new step in a dialogue was made on Sunday as Sergeant Jim Sayers of the Batchewana Police (OPP) agreed with dispensary owners that criminalization doesn’t work to address rights issues; and offered to “sit down, talk about it, come to an arrangement” as Anishinaabe people. OPP Provincial Liaison Team…
On Tuesday, June 16 2020, Police Officers from the Anishinabek Police Services (APS), a body funded by and operating in accordance with Provincial and Federal governments, threatened four cannabis dispensaries on unceded Indian lands with raids if they return to business after the Covid-19 barricades are lifted.